Hiester last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Hiester is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hiester.

Meaning of Hiester

An occupational German surname derived from "heiß" meaning hot, possibly denoting someone who worked at a furnace or kiln.

Hiester, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hiester surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hiester in America

Hiester is the 34073rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hiester surname appeared 667 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Hiester.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hiester to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 34073 33993 0.24%
Count 667 632 5.39%
Proportion per 100k 0.23 0.23 0.00%

The history of the last name Hiester

The surname Hiester has its origins in Germany. It is believed to have derived from the old German word "hister," which means "a miner" or "one who works in a mine." The name was likely first used to describe someone who worked in the mining industry, which was a significant occupation in certain regions of Germany during the Middle Ages.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Hiester can be traced back to the 16th century in various German records and documents. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Hans Hiester, who was born in the town of Aachen, Germany, in 1522. He was a prominent miner and metalworker in the region.

Another notable individual with the surname Hiester was Johann Hiester, born in 1647 in the town of Mühlheim an der Ruhr, Germany. He was a renowned geologist and mineralogist, and his contributions to the study of minerals and mining techniques were significant during his time.

As the name spread across Germany and eventually to other parts of Europe, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Heister, Heyster, and Heyester. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and local pronunciation.

In the 18th century, members of the Hiester family emigrated from Germany to the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the colonies was that of Joseph Hiester, who was born in 1752 in Pennsylvania. He served as a prominent military officer during the American Revolutionary War and later became the 7th Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 1820 to 1823.

Another notable figure with the surname Hiester was Isaac Ellmaker Hiester, born in 1824 in Pennsylvania. He was a lawyer and politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1859.

Over time, the surname Hiester has been associated with various professions and fields, including mining, metalworking, geology, politics, and law. While the name may have originated from a specific occupation, it has since become a widespread surname, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and locations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hiester

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hiester.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hiester was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 95.05% 634
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.75% 5
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 1.20% 8
Hispanic Origin 2.40% 16

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hiester has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 95.05% 98.58% -3.65%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.75% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 1.20% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 2.40% (S)% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hiester was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hiester, please contact us.

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Hiester last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 7, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/hiester-surname-popularity/.

"Hiester last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/hiester-surname-popularity/. Accessed 7 June, 2025

Hiester last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/hiester-surname-popularity/.

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